


Can You Hear Me?

by SarcasticLightwood (Wisenights)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Inspired by Music, Multi, Pain, Think of it like an extended trailer, currently canon compliant, will likely turn into canon divergent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 22:47:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9349637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wisenights/pseuds/SarcasticLightwood
Summary: Inspired by the Season 2 Promo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXmD2R0APUkBasically, I've listened to "Silent Running (Epic Trailer Version)" by Hidden Citizens a few hundred times since the promo aired, and I had FEELS. I'll be diving in to each of our dear main character's heads before I finish.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, y'all know I'm not a lover of angst. At all. But I did sorta screw myself over when I challenged @otppurefuckingmagic to write a 500 word prompt based on "Silent Running" from the Season 2 promo that aired MONTHS ago. Because she can actually stick to word counts occasionally (please note I said occasionally.... that statement obviously doesn't apply to ITSB) and I went off and got majorly sidetracked and then completely distracted by grad school.
> 
> So this is me, sitting down and finishing this, piece by piece. By the end of the 7 pieces, we'll have experienced a few minutes with each of the main characters in events inspired by the promo. Since I probably won't finish until after the next episode or two, everything will likely end up canon divergent.
> 
> All violence depicted is canon-typical, and nothing different than I expect we will experience from the show. 
> 
> Someone get me a drink, stat.

     Jace slumps to his knees as the door behind him slams. The noise ricochets off the steel walls around him, ripples pulsing through the dark puddles on the floor. He sneers at the blinks away the drops threatening to blur his eyesight – unsure if it’s blood or just sweat – but cringes when the shake of his head causes dark blooms to disrupt his vision.  

_Can you hear me?_

     He only has a little before he’ll lose consciousness; a pattern with disturbing familiarity within the windowless walls of his cargo prison cell. Valentine will come in to heal his wounds just before the real risk of death emerges, but not a minute before. Jace figures he has about 10 minutes before he passes out again, before the pain becomes too much for his mind to handle and it shuts itself down in self-defense.

_Can you hear me?_

     He shifts his position the best he can, arms and shoulders already shaking from being suspended above him. The chains rattle occasionally when the involuntary spasms rifle through him, but that and the constant _drip…drip…drip_ of something leaking from the floor above him splashing onto the floor somewhere to his right are the only sounds to keep him company.

     Until now.

     A muffled conversation down the hall suddenly becomes clear as the speakers stop right outside his door. His door that must not have been latched when Valentine left a few minutes ago, because now he can hear the voices clear as day when normally there’d be nothing more than a faint hum.

     “Yes, Aldertree sent word a few minutes ago. He’s in place in the Institute, and we’re a go for tonight.”

     Jace’s eyes fly open. _The Institute?_ He wrenches his arms in the steel cuffs again, stifling a cry lest the voices outside can hear him just as well as he can hear them. The flash of pain clears his mind for a few extra precious seconds, and he uses the opportunity to center himself to try to reach out to Alec again.

     He’s tried the parabatai bond countless times since he arrived on the ship, but something’s been blocking it. But he has to keep trying, he has to reach Alec. He has to warn them.

_Can you hear me calling you?_

     Again, and again, and again he’s tried. But there’s nothing he can do except try again, or focus on the wails and morbid shrieks that echo down the halls of the ship. The boat lists sideways for a moment before righting itself, they must be riding the wake of another large ship.

     He musters a bit more energy, desperately summoning every memory he has of Alec. Of meeting him. Of learning with him. Of trusting him. The rune burned into his side flickers to life, fortifying the bond. He’s never been able to activate it without a stele before, but he knows if the bond is strong enough, it’s possible. He reaches out with his mind, searching for that one silver cord his soul clings to the tightest, gripping it like his life depends on it. Like Alec’s life depends on it.

_Alec._

_Alec, can you hear me?_

     Steady, hollow beats vibrate through Jace’s chest. _It’s working._  He clings to the tempo, the timbre of Alec’s heartbeat as familiar to him as his own.

     The connection suddenly splinters, leaving Jace’s ears full of static and his own heartbeat erratic. He takes a few deep breaths and tries again.

_Alec – I hope you can hear me. Institute is in danger. Family is in danger. Aldertree. Betrayal. Something’s happening tonight._

     Jace can feel himself sinking fast, gripping the very edge of his consciousness. _No._ This is all his fault. Going with Valentine was supposed to _save_ his family, not put them in danger.

_Institute. Danger. Aldertree. Betrayal. Tonight. Institute. Danger. Aldertree. Betrayal. Tonight. Institute. Danger. Aldertree…._

     The bond putters out.

     The last thought Jace has before he slips under is that he’s finally identified the pungent smell that surrounds him.

     Death.

**Author's Note:**

> My sincere apologies for any heart hurt. Believe me, I'm feeling it too.
> 
> I promise to take any kudos you throw me as "dude, I feel ya" and not "OMG I totally love the pain you just put me through!" except from one specific Queen of Angst (you know who you are, babe).


End file.
